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Coyotes-Wolves-Cougars.blogspot.com

Grizzly bears, black bears, wolves, coyotes, cougars/ mountain lions,bobcats, wolverines, lynx, foxes, fishers and martens are the suite of carnivores that originally inhabited North America after the Pleistocene extinctions.
This site invites research, commentary, point/counterpoint on that suite of native animals (predator and prey) that inhabited The Americas circa 1500-at the initial point of European exploration and subsequent colonization.
Landscape ecology, journal accounts of explorers and frontiersmen, genetic evaluations of museum animals, peer reviewed 20th and 21st century research on various aspects of our "Wild America" as well as subjective commentary from expert and layman alike. All of the above being revealed and discussed with the underlying goal of one day seeing our Continent rewilded.....Where big enough swaths of open space exist with connective corridors to other large forest, meadow, mountain, valley, prairie, desert and chaparral wildlands.....Thereby enabling all of our historic fauna, including man, to live in a sustainable and healthy environment. - Blogger Rick

Hunters may get to bag bobcats

Local hunters may soon have the chance to hunt bobcats in Muscatine County.

According to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, the bobcat population has grown in Iowa to about 3,000. The DNR allowed hunters to trap 450 bobcats in the state during the 2012-13 season.

Now, because of the growing population, the DNR is proposing to open Muscatine and five other counties to bobcat hunting. The other counties are Audubon, Crawford, Dallas, Iowa and Poweshiek.

Muscatine County Conservation Officer Tom Campbell said the bobcat population isn't something the DNR has had a hand in; it's just been "a gradual move [by the bobcats] over the past couple years from Missouri and Nebraska."

Campbell said the bobcats were first spotted in southern Iowa before traveling north and throughout the state. "We first opened bobcat hunting to hunters in 2006 and that has continually expanded to include more [catches] throughout the state."

Campbell said bobcats can be seen almost anywhere in the county, but they're more commonly found in wooded areas.

"It's not unusual to see a bobcat in Muscatine [County] now," Campbell said.

DNR spokesperson Kevin Baskins said the proposed changes will be discussed at the next DNR commission meeting on Thursday, June 13. If the changes are accepted, the next hunting and trapping seasons would allow people to hunt or trap bobcats in Muscatine County. Another proposal would remove the hunting/trapping limit on bobcats, which currently stands at 450.

Baskins said the cats are harvested for their pelts and can trade anywhere from $50 to $250-300 depending on quality.

Campbell said if a person comes across a bobcat, "enjoy the sight but don't bother it." Baskins added that bobcats do not pose a threat to people.

"Spotting one is extremely rare unless you spend a lot of solitary time in the woods like some of the deer hunters," Baskins said. "They could pose a threat to smaller pets and livestock, [such as] chickens outside. Bobcats can prey on songbirds and other wildlife, but do not do nearly the amount of predator damage that feral house cats do."

He doesn't think the proposed changes would affect the population in Muscatine County. In fact, he anticipates the population will continue to grow.

"Our department has been conservative after opening [hunting and trapping] seasons in southern Iowa years ago," Campbell said. "The population has continued to expand and I don't see any reason for it to stop here."

Two Massachusetts Eastern Coyotes at their den site

Eastern Wolf in Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada

Aldo Leopold--3 quotes from his SAN COUNTY ALMANAC

"We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect."

Aldo Leopold

"A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise."

Aldo Leopold

''To keep every cog and wheel is the first precaution of intelligent tinkering."

Wildlife Rendezvous

Like so many conscientious hunters and anglers come to realize, good habitat with our full suite of predators and prey make for healthy and productive living............Teddy Roosevelt depicted at a "WILDLIFE RENDEZVOUS"

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This is a personal weblog. The opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of my employer. In addition, my thoughts and opinions change from time to time…I consider this a necessary consequence of having an open mind. This blog is intended to provide a semi-permanent point in time snapshot and manifestation of my various thoughts and opinions, and as such any thoughts and opinions expressed within out-of-date posts may not be the same, nor even similar, to those I may hold today. All data and information provided on this site is for informational purposes only. Rick Meril and WWW.COYOTES-WOLVES-COUGARS.COM make no representations as to accuracy, completeness, suitability, or validity of any information on this site and will not be liable for any errors, omissions, or delays in this information or any losses, injuries, or damages arising from its display or use. All information is provided on an as-is basis.